Back-band buckle



W.- 1-". ANTHONY.

BACK BAND BUCKLE;

(No Model.)

PatentedMar. .26, 1895.

n O t n e v n I Witnesses:

Attorney.

UNITED STATES PATENT O FICE.

WALTER F. ANTHONY, OF WILLIAMSPORT, PENNSYLVANIA.

BACK-BAND BUCKLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 536,451, dated March26, 1895.

' Application filed December 6,1894. Serial No. 531,048. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER F. ANTHONY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Williamsport, in the county of Lycoming and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improved Back-Band Buckleand Trace-Carrier, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in combined back band buckles andtrace carriers, and has for its object to provide a construction thatwill when clamped upon the back band and carrying the trace chain or.leather, so act that the trace will operate to retain the buckle firmlyclamped in position while at the same time the retention of the bucklein its closed or clamped position will effectually retain the trace inits holder. This object I accomplish in the manner and by the meanshereinafter described and claimed, reference being bad to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a front View of my improvedbuckle. Fig; 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line sca:,Fig. 1. 1

Like figures of reference denote corresponding parts in the two views.

In the said drawings the numeral 1 denotes the base plate of the buckleformed preferably of sheet metal and having the two transverse slots 2for the passage of the back-band. A tongue 3 projects centrally from thelower side of the base plate, and is bent about midway of its lengthupward toward the base plate in the form of the letter U as shown, for apurpose hereinafter to be described.

Ears or lugs 4cformed on the sides of the base plate are perforated andadapted to receive the ends of the clamping p1ate5 to act as bearingstherefor. also preferably formed or struck up from sheet metal in theshape shown, and has its upper edge bent at substantially right anglesto the main portion, and provided with a series of teeth 6 to clamp theback band firmly between it and the base plate 1 when the parts are intheir closed position. The lower end 7 of the clamping plate 5 isnarrowed as shown and extends downward in the line of the curve moreparticularly shown in Fig. 2 that is to say, it is provided with thehump 8 about midway of its length, for a purpose The clamping plate 5 isI hereinafter to be described. The extreme lower endthereof is curvedoutwardly at 9 as shown. This lower end 7 is also slotted or aperturedcentrally at 10 to freely permit the passage of the tongue 3 as shown,and has at the upper end of this aperture or slot the lip 11 formedintegral with the main body of the clamping plate 5, and bent intoapproximately the shape shown so that it will form a continuation of theend of the U shaped tongue 3 when the clamping plate is in its closedposition.-

The operation of my device is as follows: The back band of the harnessis passed through the slots 2 in the base plate in the usual manner sothat it may be in position to be clamped by the clamping plate 5 when inits closed position. Before the said clamping plate is pressed down intoits closed position, however, the trace chain is placed transversely inthe recess formed between the lip 11 and the lower end 7 of the clampingplate. The clamping plate is now pressed down into its locking positionand the trace chain forced downward past the hump 8, which beingresilient-will yield thereto, into the lower portion of the loop formedby the U shaped tongue 3, and the parts will all be in their operativeposition. The hump 8 will act to retain the trace chain in place, andthe latter in turn will prevent any movement of the lower end 7 of theclamping plate toward unclamping the back band. Thus the trace chain andclamping plate will mutually operate to retain each other in position.

As the hump 8 is not essential to the efiective operation of my deviceit may be omitted and the lower end 7 of the clamping plate 5 formed asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

While I have described my buckle as being preferably formed or struck upfrom sheet metal, any other suitable material may be employed. Nor do Idesire to limit myself to the employment of the device strictly inconnection with heavy draft harness, nor even to the back band of aharness, as it may be advantageously used in any position where the samerequirements exist.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desiretosecure by Letters Patent, is-

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base plate having the slots 2, ears 4, and U shaped tongue 3, with theclamping plate secured pivotally by its ends in the ears 4 having theserrated edge 6 and the loop upon its lower end with the lip 11 andadapted when in junction with the lower end of the base plate to form aclosed loop for receiving and retaining the trace, substantially asshown and described.

2. The herein described buckle consisting of the base plate 1 with thetransverse slots 2; the tongue 3 projecting centrally from the lower endof the base plate; the ears 4 formed on the sides of the base platebetween the slots 2'; the clamping plate 5 secured pivot- 15 WALTER F.ANTHONY.

Witnesses:

L. SHEFFER, JAMES MURAT.

